Ok. Now do not get mad at me. This is like a filler chapter for ya! It is short yet it is very sweet because just to let you know, this is the chapter where Kagome and Sesshomaru are going to have a turning point in their relationship before the wedding. You might actually like it though. Now, on for the reviews!
elvenarcher516: Thank you so much for the review! I hope that I have done justice so far. And that chapter did take a while to write.
DreamBeamz: You know, I am a true Kikyou hater and I would like to point out though, that I do respect her as a human. I know that it seems rather odd for Kagome to put everything aside and be friends. For me, that would be impossible but I am not Kagome! Thank goodness she has a heart that is pure.
Blood Red Moon: Thanks so much! I hope that this story is giving good detail and description for all of you!
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha but I do have my words! Muhahahaha!
The next morning, Kagome woke with renewed life in her. She lay there and watched Sesshomaru sleep. His beautiful pale face relaxed, his long lashes lay dormant on his cheeks, and his nostrils slightly flaring with each breath taken in and his lips were slightly parted. Kagome lightly moved her finger over those lips that touched hers ever day and night. Then the finger took it's own journey over his face, around his chin, down the strips that caress his cheek, around his ear and finally down his nose. He smiled when she did this and she did not notice that his breathing changed and that he was awake.
With swift movements he was on top of her, glaring down at her dark brown eyes with a small smirk on his face.
"You are really starting to wake me up in interesting ways Kagome."
"All the better for you to wake up in a good mood my Sesshomaru."
She smiled as he brought his lips to hers into a passionate kiss. When he pulled away, she kept her eyes closed, a smile on her face. He looked down at her and saw how beautiful she really was. Her creamy skin ever so smooth, her pink stripes on her cheeks were ever so bright against her skin, her hair was so shiny and soft to the touch, the shape of her almond eyes with no creases or lines around them, and those lips. How he loved the softness and the innocence in those lips. She opened her eyes, how they shined so bright with happiness and love as they gazed at his.
She just looked at him, every inch of his face; she took in the sight that was before her. InuYasha never had the look of wiseness and the look of sweet love in his face. Sesshomaru's face was a masterpiece in Kagome's eyes. His sweet pale skin, the bright stripes on his cheeks of blood red, his shiny silver hair that was soft as she ran her fingers through it each day and night, the hardness of his chin, and his golden eyes. The shade that she never thought that any creature could have. They were the window to his soul, as he never wanted people to know what was behind the wall that he had put up for years. Yet even as now, he does not show much to people when he gazes at them. They were the perfect shade of gold that she has ever seen; they were so bright and shiny when the sun reflected off of them. And when he smiled, they gleamed ever so bright.
She took her hand and rubbed his cheek, bringing it slowly down his chin. His eyes closed as she touched him, any time that she touched him with gentleness he got the most wonderful sensations that ran through his body. He knew that he had found his soul mate, his life mate that was made just for him. He knew years ago that InuYasha did not value her as the precious jewel that she was. In his heart, Kikyou was always there; she never left and now never will. Sesshomaru could not believe that his own half brother would use this precious jewel to find the Shikon No Tama for his own uses, his own wishes. And in the end, she used the jewel for wishes that she knew that would benefit everyone in their group. Naraku destroyed, Kikyou made human, Kagura and Kanna and Kohaku released from the hell that was bound to them. And even now, this wonderful woman used her miko powers to continue to make people happy by returning his arm to him and helping Sayla with her tail. This woman's heart was boundless when it came to helping people. And here she was with him, no one else. She was now bound to him as his most precious treasure, his Shikon No Tama jewel. He loved her so much that he could not even believe it; his whole body felt so much love that it was warm to the touch. This woman has changed him so much that even he could not believe that not a year ago yet, he was alone and cold hearted. That the only person that he cared for was Rin and no one else.
And here he was, with her in his arms in his bedchambers knowing that each night that they are alive, she will be here with him.
"Sesshomaru, what are you thinking about?" Kagome finally said breaking the silence.
"I was just thinking on how lucky I was to have you. On how old and cold hearted that I was long ago. I was thinking about how much I have changed since you accepted my courting months ago."
"Now Sesshomaru, why are you thinking of such things at this time?"
"I don't know. I just cannot believe that I have found someone to share my life with. With someone that makes me feel so warm and loved when I am in her arms."
Kagome blushed as he said this, "Sesshomaru sometimes you are so dramatic. But you are right, I am happy that you have found someone to share your life with and I am even happier that it was me who did this for you." Kagome said as he placed his head on her chest. Resting the rest of his body to the side so he does not crush her.
She wrapped her arms around him, moving his hair off his face as he lay there with her in their bed. They stayed like that as the sun came through the window, a soft breeze coming through greeting them. Kagome's tail grabbed the comforter that was at the end of the bed and brought it closer to them. Their warmth and their scents mingling together, they were quiet and not moving. Just living in the moment of the silence before the bustle of the day comes at them. Kagome growled low as she could smell Sayla coming towards the door.
Before she was able to knock she heard Kagome tell her to come in. She walked in and bowed at the two that were locked in an embrace in bed.
"I just wanted to let you know that Rin is feeling ill and that she will not be doing her lessons today."
Kagome looked directly at her, "What are you talking about? Ill?"
She sniffed the air and found the smell of dead blood in the air. She smiled and Sesshomaru looked at her questioningly.
"Sayla, give Rin the bag in the bathroom in the pink basket. Tell her to use those and to get to her lessons. Having her period is no excuse for missing her lessons."
Sayla went to the bathroom and grabbed the basket. She turned to the couple in the bed and bowed and then left.
"She has become a woman?"
"Yes, I am amazed that I did not notice it earlier. As for you too!"
"I try not to notice such things as that."
"Well, I think that you should from now on. Especially since Sota is now courting her for marriage."
Sesshomaru got up on his elbow and looked at her, "He is now courting her for marriage?"
"I have the feeling that he will."
"They had that much of a good time the other night?"
"It is not just that honey. I have the feeling that this time apart is making the heart grow stronger with love."
"……"
"I feel the same way, every time I am away from you, I still think about you constantly. Even though it might seem that my whole body and soul is in my work, I still have you on my mind and in my heart. It is what makes love grow stronger and the bond that we share even more unbreakable."
"I can understand that then. I just hope that things progress at a very slow pace. I would not want anything done in haste."
"Me neither. I want them to discover their love slowly and to make the bond strong before marriage."
To his dismay, Sesshomaru got out of bed and put on his robe. Kagome got up quickly and wrapped her hands around his waist. He turned to look at her, "Are you missing me already?"
"I miss your warmth."
Sesshomaru smiled and bent down and kissed her. "Kagome you will remain as sweet as the day that I met you."
He walked outside the door and he was talking to someone. She thought that it might be Shippo because of the way that he was talking. Dark in the tones of his voice, she did not know if it was because of secrecy or because he was yelling at him. He came back in the bedchambers after a few minutes. He went to the closet to grab his clothing to go to the building site.
"Who was that at the door?"
"It was Shippo. He came to request the hand of Rin. I had told him that another was courting her and that he should look elsewhere. He told me that he would fight for her and I told him that he would lose against his opponent."
"Oh. I did not know that growing up near her would bring out such feelings for her."
"I did not either. But you know what? I am now happy that Sota requested first. I feel that he is the stronger of the two even as a hanyou."
"Oh really. Now you surprise me." Kagome let go and sat down once again on the bed. Her stomach growled, wanting food and she looked sheepishly at Sesshomaru. He moved to the door once again and talked to someone and then returned to her side.
"We will have breakfast together. Get back into bed so that I may feed you breakfast." She quickly realized that it was not a request but yet more of like a demand.
"I am not a thing for you to order around Sesshomaru!" Kagome said, her face getting red as she was getting angry.
"Kagome, you need to keep your strength up in order to deal with me day by day. You know that." And after speaking those words, he picked her up and placed her at the head of the bed. He grabbed the comforter and placed it over her legs. She slapped his hand away from her as he did this.
"I can take care of my self Sesshomaru!" Kagome spat at him.
"Kagome, for once take the gesture that was presented to you."
"I will most certainly not! I am not a doll that can be manipulated!"
"Kagome calm yourself."
"I will not! I am not property that you can just order around and have me do what you want!"
There was a knock at the door and Kagome crossed her arms over her chest. She turned her head to the window, not looking at who was at the door with their food.
"Lord Sesshomaru, your breakfast that you requested." The voice said.
"Thank you. You may leave now."
The door closed and she could hear him walking towards her with the tray of food. He picked up the chopsticks and some eggs and presented it to her.
"Keh." Was all that she said.
He looked at her and raised an eyebrow, "So I see that some of my half brothers sayings have rubbed off on you. Now eat Kagome."
As her stomach growled again, she brought her head up a little higher. He put the tray on the nightstand next to the bed; he took her chin in his hand and gently moved it toward him. She closed her eyes because she did not want to face him.
"Kagome, you are going to starve our pups that you might be carrying."
She opened her eyes and looked straight at his eyes, "I am not pregnant and do not assume as much."
Sesshomaru released her chin from his grasp and started eating his breakfast. He placed her plate on her lap, leaving the chopsticks on top of the food. He took his cup of tea and sat down on a chair near the veranda. After some time she finally took the chopsticks and started eating her breakfast. When she was finished, he took her plate and placed it back on the tray and giving her a cup of tea. They still did not say a word. He sat back down where he was previously and looked at the flowers in the bucket.
"Kagome, I do not think of you as a piece of property or a doll. I consider you as a wild flower. I want to keep you safe and healthy at all times for your own benefit. I value your life more than anyone else would. I had watched you go through heartache and turmoil while you were with my half brother, while he said that he would protect you for the rest of your life, yet now he is not. I have seen you kill and save at the same time for that is what you live for. Your very wish in this world is for peace and love to spread throughout the lands yet your own wants are disregarded. What is it Kagome that you want for yourself?"
Kagome thought about it for a while, looking down at her cup of tea, the steam rolling off of the liquid as it cooled in her hands. She turned and looked at him, he was still looking at the flowers on the table that he sat at.
"Sesshomaru, I have all that I want for myself. I have found love in you and myself. I have found that I can love someone that was once considered the most hated and feared Taiyouaki of all Japan. I have found love with a daughter who is not of my blood but wish that she was. I have found the one thing in the world that causes nothing but pain and killed it and the cause. I have found the power within my body and use it everyday to make people around me feel the joy and happiness that I feel. For a man who was once made of ice, you are now melted with the love that we share. I do not desire anything but you. You are like my life support that I live off of everyday, like a morning breeze that kisses and plays with the grass outside. Every day that I wake up next to you, I feel complete in my life. I do not feel the cold empty space that was once housed by my heart. I guess that you can say that we are alike in that way Sesshomaru. You do not show your feelings on the outside for fear of others thinking that you are weak if you do. I wear my emotions on my body like clothing and wish to not show others of my crying that I used to do each night because I did not want to show weakness either." Kagome got up, took his cup and placed it on the table as she sat down on his lap. "Sesshomaru, we are like two peas in a pod, all alike yet different. It was like we were meant to be together not InuYasha and me. Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, she works her magic like none other on mortals who are the same yet different. I feel that this web that she had woven for us; is one that no one can break. I do not want us to drift apart but to be closer than before. I have a free spirit like yourself, do not cage me as you wander the countryside without me. Let me experience things that you are experiencing, let me hear the things that you hear, let me taste the things that you taste. The life that we are venturing into together is one that I do not want to regret later in life. But to be able to look back and smile."
"Kagome…"
She drew her face near his and gave him a small kiss. She then rested her forehead on his and looked into the yellow globes that are now soft. She can feel them penetrating into her. He carried her to the bed and they made love. His touches ever so soft and tender on her body, he took his time with her as she devoured everything that he was doing to her. Taking in his scents, his touches and his tastes. He was giving her what she requested, he was sharing with her all that he was getting from her and she did nothing but take it into her mouth and savor the taste. They did not leave the bedchambers until well after noon that day. He had water brought in for them to bathe together in the bathroom, washing each other with such care and grace.
They finally left the bedchambers around 1 p.m. in the afternoon. They gathered Rin and the others into the great hall to go and see the improvements on the houses that they have finished so far. Kikyou had the curtains in her arms as they left the palace and walked to the east, where the soldier's families lived. Sesshomaru's arm never left Kagome's waist the whole time. Everyone noticed that they were comfortable that way, always in contact of each other. InuYasha saw this and a hint of jealousy ran through him, no one noticed that he fidgeted slightly when he first saw them enter the great hall. And now here they were walking through Akoro's house, the one side of the house was new as he added some bedrooms in order to accompany Shippo and his own children. Kouga and InuYasha put up the curtains where Aiayme told them. Kagome smiled as she saw that one thing was going great. One of her wishes was becoming true. Sesshomaru then led them to the stables where he made additional improvements since the last time that she was there. He had the building moved some to where a hot spring could be housed in the stables for the animals to bathe in when needed. She also noticed a new building near the stables. He brought them into there and they saw that there were 8 carriages in there. All gleaming white and on the doors were the family insignia in dark blue. Sliding wood was placed on the windows of the carriage in case of bad weather while traveling. Kagome thought that it was a good idea and was thankful that Sesshomaru noticed that it should be done.
He turned to InuYasha, "You are to use two of the carriages when you travel somewhere outside of our lands InuYasha. Now that we have them, we must make good use of them."
"That is a good idea Sesshomaru. I can see where they would become very handy during the winter time."
Kagome's stomach once again growled in anger because of the lack of food. She looked at Sesshomaru and nodded. He went to one of the stable boys and told him to run to the house to prepare of lunch in the great dining hall. The boy ran as fast as he could to the palace. They went to the gardens where the ladies gathered flowers for arrangements in the dining hall. The men leaned against the trees that were scattered around the garden. As they were getting flowers, Kagome went over to Rin to see how she was doing with her first period.
"Rin, how are the cramps? Are they bad?"
"No, I am fine. I was just really scared this morning to wake up with a puddle of blood. But I am fine now."
"Well, any time that they get really bad, just let me know. I have medicine that would do well for you."
"Kagome, you really have helped me a lot with this. Thank you mother."
Kagome grabbed Rin and hugged her tightly. "Oh Rin, my daughter. Come, let's all have some lunch! I feel like I could eat a horse!"
As everyone laughed, Kouga looked at Sesshomaru. "Gosh Sesshomaru what are you doing to her half the day? You should let her do her woman things instead of training!"
"I can assure you Lord Kouga, that I do not train her in the morning. Although, that does not sound like a bad idea?"
"Sesshomaru! There is no way in hell that I would train with you! Remember what happened at mothers?" Kagome screamed at him.
"Oh that is right. I almost forgot about that. Good thing that Akoro made some gas masks like the ones that Sango uses for you to wear. So actually we could start training later on." Sesshomaru pointed out.
"What happened at your mother's Kagome?" Kouga asked.
"Well, my arrows are different. After impact with the target, Sesshomaru's poison came out and gas surrounded the area, kind of melting things." Kagome said.
"Well, I guess now we know to definitely not piss off Kagome." Kikyou chuckled.
Sango went over to Kagome, "Is this the only change that you have noticed Kagome?"
"No. I have also noticed that I am able to throw out power spurts with a hint of poison from my nails."
InuYasha looked at her, his eyes down to slits on his face. Kagome looked at him and he turned his face away from her. He felt somewhat defeated from this information realizing that if he had taken her as his mate, she would not be so dangerous now. But he remembered that he promised Kagome that he would not deal with the past anymore. He stood up straight and smiled at her. The tiny group made their way to the palace for lunch. After lunch the women went to the sewing room and the men to the building sites. Each of them was working on a house to get it done faster. The winds outside where getting colder and colder as each day passes. Sesshomaru figured that maybe he should construct a way to get the glass put into the palace windows so they would not go through so much wood this year. He had Akoro count the number of windows that would need to be covered with the glass and then go down to the village and have the local glass magician work on them.
While this was all happening the women in the sewing room were talking about the wedding and working on the curtains. Each of them now knew exactly the format of the curtains that they wanted in each of the houses. As each one was done, they formed a line of piles for each house. Laying them nice and flat after pressing them so they were able to be put up right away. Kagome was looking at the amount of material that they have left and she figured that she was probably about 200 yards short of what she needed to finish all of the windows in the houses. She also figured that she would like to put some in the palace so that they would have privacy when they wanted. She heard from Akoro that Sesshomaru was going to put up glass in each of the rooms and she got really excited. She requested that there be windows put up in the houses of the village and in InuYasha and Kouga's houses as well. As bridesmaids and groomsmen presents for them being in their wedding. Kagome was so very happy about how things were going. She had missives sent out about the wedding to the surrounding villages asking all to come to the celebration. The ceremony itself was going to be done in the traditional style according to the scrolls that she found one day. That was one thing that Kagome loved was wandering around the palace finding new rooms and things to read.
Later that night she told Sesshomaru that she would need to go and get more material for the houses and for herself. He was displeased because he did not want her to go. They were sitting in the study when she brought it up to him.
"Sesshomaru, I was wondering if you would be ok if I left for a day to get more material?" Kagome asked while she was working on her needlepoint.
He looked up from the missive that he was reading, "Are you already going to run out?"
"Yes, there is more material being used up than I thought originally. I will only be gone for one day."
"I will accompany you on your day out."
"No, I can do this on my own. I just need to use Ah Un and a carriage so I don't have to carry everything. Besides, I would like to bring Rin with me so we can get her some things that she needs." Kagome said not looking at him. She knew that he had a sad look in his eyes. He hated to be away from her for a long period of time.
Sesshomaru thought about it for a minute. "Ok. You will leave in the morning. Please leave the others a missive about why you are leaving and the reason why Rin is missing to her teacher."
"I will. Thank you Sesshomaru." Kagome said looking at him while she smiled.
Sesshomaru set the missive down that was in his hands and walked to her. "Come it is late, and you will need your rest before traveling tomorrow. I will make sure that you have plenty of your money in your purse. I will also give you money to give to Sota for the trust fund. You will need to go to the bank and get it switched over to your money though since our coins are outdated. But the exchange from what Sota said is great so you will have a lot of cash. Make sure you take the car and lock it at all times."
Kagome got up, putting her needlepoint aside. She took his hand into hers, "Sesshomaru I will actually take Sota with me so we can create the trust fund there." Kagome yawned. "Yes I am tired, this has been a rather tiring day."
They walked out of his study hand in hand to their bedchambers. He helped her undress and get into her nightgown and then decided to take it off of her instead. She smiled as she undressed the many layers that he was wearing and they stood there naked. She moved him to the bed and they laid down, cuddling each other to sleep.
Rin walked back to her bedchambers quietly as she heard them start coming to the door of the study. She heard what Kagome said to Sesshomaru and was happy that she was included on the travel. She went to bed smiling that night. I am going to see him again. Spend time with him again. Oh thank you Kagome!